Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Ross Ebanez a late booking for DREAM.7

Popular Japanese fighter and former Shooto champion Tatsuya Kawajiri (22-5-2) has been booked to fight Hawaiian-based EliteXC veteran Ross Ebanez (19-6) next month at DREAM.7.

The event takes place March 7 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. It airs on HDNet via one-week tape delay.

Kawajiri vs. Ebanez is the third non-tournament bout booked for the show, which also includes the opening round of the organization’s 16-slot featherweight grand prix.

Kawajiri, who most recently defeated Kozo Takeda at a K-1 rules match in December, returns to MMA for the first time since DREAM’s lightweight grand prix. Kawajiri defeared Kultar Gill and Luiz Firmino in the opening rounds, but he was stopped in the semifinals by Eddie Alvarez.

The 30-year-old has now won seven of his nine fights, which has included wins over notables such as Joachim Hansen, Per Eklund and Charles Bennett.

Ebanez, meanwhile, could go 6-1 (with one no-contest) in his past eight fights with a victory over Kawajiri. The six-year vet’s only loss during that stretch came in January 2008 to Alvarez via second-round TKO.

Ebanez, who trains with UFC lightweight champ B.J. Penn, has been on a roll in recent years going 9-2 (with one no-contest) since June 2006.

For the latest on DREAM.7, including the match-ups for the opening round of the featherweight grand prix, check out the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

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